Jan 04
- January, 04 2018
- Kathleen Qu, M.Sc
With the coming of a new year, people are quick to talk about new years’ resolutions about their physical health, habits, work, and relationships. This mentality can also be applied to mental health solutions.
Mental health is the vital centre to all our day to day operations. Good mental health conveys resilience and a healthy method for working through the daily ups and downs. Here, we’ve listed a few simple things that can get you started on taking care of your mental health.
Resolve to Love Yourself
You are your biggest critic and no matter what you do, you can’t seem to satisfy yourself. Take a quick minute to reflect on all that you do and all that you’ve done. You deserve to feel good about yourself and to be kind to yourself. Taking an extra minute to breathe the morning air or let yourself rest for a little longer. Putting pressure on every minute and creating expectations at every turn can wear you down. Treating yourself like how you would treat your loved ones lets you show kindness to yourself and can greatly improve your mental health.
Resolve to Live in the Moment
If you live every moment thinking about your past mistakes or worrying about the next responsibility, it’s time to take a page from Dr. Segal’s Daily Mindfulness. Dr. Segal is a member of our Clinical Advisory Board and a founding father for Mindfulness Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. In being mindful, you are being in the moment, aware of the conversations around you, the sounds, feelings, and smells all around. The more aware of your thoughts, feelings, and body sensations, it is possible to become open in your thinking and gives a great sense of freedom and choice. Learn more ways to engage in mindful behaviour here:
https://www.mindful.org/11-steps-toward-daily-mindfulness/
Resolve to Take Action on your Mental Health
Addressing personal mental health takes immense courage, especially when you have people at home or at work depending on you. There is still stigma around mental health and that makes help-seeking behaviours to seem like a sign of weakness or incompetence. FeelingBetterNow® may be an anonymous tool offered at your organization. Alternatively, there are online resources that can help you better understand mental health concerns or questions you may have.
Taking care of your mental health is not limited to people who have a diagnostic problem. Mental health is about the wellness of the total person and being able to cope with situations in a healthy manner. Taking action on your mental health can be as simple as learning more about different mental health concerns to trying out a new exercise class.
If you haven’t been feeling like yourself lately or have been experiencing severe changes in your mood or thinking, it may be time to reach out to a counsellor, therapist, local healthcare provider, or crisis hotline for support. If you need immediate assistance, please contact:
https://suicideprevention.ca/need-help/
While it can be motivating to use a fresh new year to build healthier habits and improve one’s self, it is also important to be realistic about expectations. Consistency is key, but falling off once in a while is also a part of the learning process.